Self-adhesive eyelashes extension set

ABSTRACT

A self-adhesive artificial eyelash unit attaches to a subject wearer&#39;s existing natural eyelashes to modify their appearance. The unit is preferably applied as a set of units to opposite sides of a wearer&#39;s natural eyelash. Each unit includes an array of artificial lash hairs each lash hair having a base and a tip, the hairs aligned in the array with their bases in a substantially common direction; a support strip having an adhesive-receiving surface and a leading edge, the strip made of polyurethane and having the bases of the hairs of the array of artificial lash hairs embedded in the polyurethane of the leading edge of the support strip; and an adhesive disposed on the adhesive-receiving surface of the support strip, the adhesive releaseably attachable to the existing natural eyelashes of the wearer to provide for cosmetically altering the appearance of the wearer&#39;s natural eyelashes.

This application claims the benefit of prior filed U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 60/744,131, filed 2 Apr. 2006, which isfully incorporated herein by reference, and to which prior applicationthe present application is a U.S. utility application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of cosmetic materials. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to personal grooming and toartificial eyelashes adapted for attachment onto hair growing from aneyelid.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The cosmetic use of artificial eyelashes by persons in the making oftheir toilet is old in the art. Typically, eyelash sets comprise leftand right arrays of lash hairs held together on an adhesive strip, andthe array is attached to the skin of the upper eyelid of the wearer tocosmetically extend the length of the wearer's natural eyelashes. Theindividual hairs of the array are aligned with their bases in asubstantially common direction. The bases of the lash hairs are embeddedin the support strip, preferably in its leading edge. It is known in theart how to produce, select, sculpt and arrange the individual hairs ofthe array to provide various aesthetically desirable configurations ofthe array in combination with the support strip.

As noted above, prior art artificial eye lashes typically are applied tothe skin of the wearer. I would be beneficial to have an alternativethat does not attach to or contact the skin of the wearer. A benefit ofthis a reduced risk that the wearer would be exposed to the solvents orother chemicals in the adhesive and mounting strip of the eyelash strip.Additionally, if it is desired to regular the adherence of theartificial eyelash by the application of pressure to the adhesive, itwould be beneficial to be able to avoid applying the pressure directlyto the tissue (i.e., eyelid and/or eyeball) of the wearer. I would alsobe beneficial in the field to be able to remove and reapply theartificial eyelash strips.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a self-adhesive artificial eyelash unit thatattaches to a subject wearer's existing natural eyelashes to modifytheir appearance. The unit is preferably applied as a left and right setof units, with the left and the right sets including an upper unit andoptionally including a lower unit. The left and right sets correspond tothe wearer's left and right eyes. The upper and lower units of a setcorrespond to the upper and lower surfaces of a wearer's naturaleyelashes. Each unit includes an array of artificial lash hairs, eachlash hair having a base and a tip. Preferably, the artificial lash hairsare sculpted, in that the base of the individual lash hair is thickerthan its tip. The lash hairs are somewhat spaced apart in the array withtheir bases in a common direction relative to a support strip. The basesare received in the support strip, preferably at its leading edge. Thesupport strip has an adhesive-receiving surface on which an adhesive isdisposed. In the embodiments illustrated, the support strip was made ofpolyurethane and had the bases of the hairs of the array of artificiallash hairs embedded in the polyurethane of the leading edge of thesupport strip. An adhesive is disposed on the adhesive-receiving surfaceof the support strip. The adhesive releaseably attaches the supportstrip to the existing natural eyelashes of the wearer to provide forcosmetically altering the appearance of the wearer's natural eyelashes.The adhesive may be supplied in place on a unit and covered with aremovable protective covering, or may be separately applied to theadhesive receiving surface by the wearer just prior to use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a self-adhesive artificial eyelashextensions set of the present invention, consisting of a pair of lashextension unit: an upper unit and a lower unit.

FIG. 2 is side view of a self-adhesive artificial eyelash extension setof the present invention installed on a subject wearer's existingnatural eyelashes.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a self-adhesive artificial eyelash extensionset of the present invention positioned to be installed on a subjectwearer's existing natural eyelashes.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of the invention inwhich adhesive is applied intermittently.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring now to the drawings, the details of the embodiments of thepresent invention are graphically and schematically illustrated. Likeelements in the drawings are represented by like numbers, and anysimilar elements are represented by like numbers with a different lowercase letter suffix.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention is self-adheringartificial eyelashes extensions 10 for attachment to a subject wearer'sexisting natural eyelashes 60 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) to provide thecosmetic appearance of natural looking longer and fuller eyelashes, oralternatively, fanciful eyelashes. An eyelashes extension unit 14 ismade up of an array 18 of artificial lash hairs 20, each lash hair 20having a base 22 and a tip 23. The individual hairs 20 of the array 18are aligned with their bases 22 in a substantially common directionrelative to a support strip 26. The bases 22 of the lash hairs 20 areembedded in the support strip 26, preferably in its leading edge 34. Itis known in the art how to produce, select, sculpt and arrange theindividual hairs 20 of the array 18 to provide various aestheticallydesirable configurations of the array 18 in combination with the supportstrip 26.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the figures, the supportstrip 26 of the lash extension unit 14 is made of polyurethane.Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the support strip 26 has a topsurface 28, a bottom surface 30 and a leading edge 34. The bases 22 ofthe lash hairs 20 of the artificial lash hair array 18 are embedded inthe polyurethane of the leading edge 34 of the support strip 26. On anylash extension unit 14, one of the surfaces 28, 30 of the support strip26 is also an adhesive surface 36 disposed to receive a film or a layer40 of an adhesive 42.

The adhesive 42 disposed on the adhesive surface 40 of a support strip26 enables the strip 26 of the lash extension unit 14 with its array 18of artificial lash hairs 20 to be releaseably adhered to the existingnatural lashes 60 of the wearer.

In a preferred embodiment, the adhesive 42 is a silicone-basedcomposition. However, other adhesive compositions are known to and areselectable by one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, a heat orlight cured self-adhering composition may be particularly advantageous.

Attaching a present self-adhering artificial eyelashes extensions unit14 to the existing natural eyelashes 60 of the wearer provides forcosmetically extending the length of the wearer's natural eyelashes 60.

In a preferred embodiment illustrated in the figures, the presentself-adhering artificial eyelashes extensions are provided as a matchedset of two units 14, the set being made up of an upper unit 14 a forattachment to the top side of the existing natural eyelashes 60 on awearer's upper eyelid 68, and an lower unit 14 b for attaching to thebottom side of the same eyelashes. In this embodiment, the self-adhesiveartificial eyelash extension set 10 comprises two support strips, onebeing an upper unit support strip 26 a and the other being a lower unitsupport strip 26 b, the upper unit support strip 26 a has a bottomadhesive surface 36 a, and the lower unit support strip 26 b has anupper adhesive surface 36 b.

In using the present invention, the wearer's existing natural lashes 60(e.g., of the wearer's upper eyelid) are sandwiched between the upperand lower lash hair units 14 a & 14 b of a lash extension set 10 of thepresent invention. The self-adhering adhesives 42 of the two lash hairextension units 14 a & 14 b come into contact and bond the two adhesivelayers together with the wearer's existing natural lashes 60 disposedbetween them. In a preferred embodiment, the adhesive 42 is contactsensitive. However, pressure sensitive and heat or light settingadhesives may be practiced in the present invention, if the adhesiveeffect can be released to enable removal of the artificial lashextension units.

Referring now to FIG. 4, in another embodiment, the adhesive 42 isdistributed intermittently across the adhesive-receiving surface, or ina pattern 43, such that, for at least one of the matched pair, not theentire surface is covered with adhesive. The disposition of the adhesive42 in such a pattern 43 can help optimize the adhering characteristicsof the upper and lower matched set, together making it easier to removesuch artificial units 14 or makes them more permanent, according to thedesire of the wearer or the cosmetician. For example, the adhesivepattern 43 may be strips 44 of adhesive parallel to and aligned with thehairs 20 having non-adhesive spaces 46 in between of a width comparableto that of the adhesive strip width (e.g., the width of four humanhairs), thereby allowing a cosmetician or the wearer to simply offsetone unit with respect to another in order to control the amount ofadhering force, thereby eliminating the need for a large stock ofeyelash units 14 having a varying amount of adhesive 42.

In another embodiment, one of the matched pairs of units 14 does nothave any adhesive 42 and relies on the adhesive present on the matchedunit, passing between natural lashes 60, and contacting the surface ofthe unit, to retain the assembly together.

Although it is the primary intent of the invention to provide aartificial eyelash unit 14 or lash set 10 that enhances a wearer'seyelashes 60 such that they appear natural, fuller, longer andconsequently, more attractive, the invention allows for a departure fromthis usual goal, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. In other words, although the polyurethane strip 26 isgenerally made dark or clear and the artificial lashes 20 of a naturalcolor, the strip 26 may even be made of different colors and be ofdiffering sizes according to the desire of the wearer. Such strip 26 mayeven embedded with a metallic glitter, according to the desire of thewearer. Further, text may be printed on the non-adhesive surface of thestrip 26, such as the trademark of the manufacturer, or a phrase orexpression invoking a theme, perhaps even including the name of thewearer. Such strip 26 may optionally be embedded with a material withabsorbs light energy and emits the absorbed light at a predeterminedlevel or rate, such that when ambient light level is lower than theemission rate, the strip 26 is ruminated. Further, the self-adheringartificial eyelashes extensions 10 may be made up of artificialeyelashes 20 of a fanciful color, like gold or silver, or some othercolor, and may be luminescent as well. The array 18 may be homogeneousor include a pattern of different color eyelashes 20, randomly mixed,alternating one to the other, or set in groups of lashes of differentcolors.

In another embodiment, the attachment may be accomplished bymechanically interlocking the units to each other (and to the naturaleyelashes) using a suitable loop-and-hook combination (e.g., aVELCRO™-type combination), wherein each matched strip 26 has acomplementary mechanical structure which engages with a correspondingmechanical structure of the matching strip 26 as well as with thenatural lashes 60 themselves.

In an advantage, the invention provides an artificial eyelash thatenhances a wearer's eyelashes 60 such that they appear natural, fullerand consequently, more attractive. This is due to the fact thatsandwiching of the natural lash 60 between two artificial lash units 14that better cover the natural lashes, thereby making them appear moreconsistent and fuller.

In another advantage, the level of permanence of such eyelash assembly10 may be controlled by controlling the amount or pattern of adhesive onthe eyelash strips 26.

In another advantage, a wearer may select from a wide variety ofappearance from a natural appearance to a fanciful appearance.

In another advantage, the invention conveys a desired message bypermitting printing on the eyelash strip 26.

While the above description contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather asexemplifications of one or another preferred embodiment thereof. Manyother variations are possible, which would be obvious to one skilled inthe art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined bythe scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, and not just bythe embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A self-adhesive artificial eyelash unitattachable to a subject wearer's existing natural eyelashes to modifytheir appearance, the unit comprising: an array of artificial lash hairseach lash hair having a base and a tip, the hairs aligned in the arraywith their bases in a substantially common direction; a support striphaving an adhesive-receiving surface and a leading edge, the strip madeof polyurethane and having the bases of the hairs of the array ofartificial lash hairs embedded in the polyurethane of the leading edgeof the support strip; and an adhesive disposed on the adhesive-receivingsurface of the support strip, the adhesive releaseably attachable to theexisting natural eyelashes of the wearer to provide for cosmeticallyextending the length appearance of the wearer's natural eyelashes. 2.The self-adhesive artificial eyelash unit of claim 1, wherein theadhesive is a silicone-based adhesive.
 3. The self-adhesive artificialeyelash unit of claim 1, wherein the adhesive is type which ismechanically interlocking.
 4. The self-adhesive artificial eyelash unitof claim 1, wherein the adhesive is a mechanically interlocking type ofadhesive.
 5. The self-adhesive artificial eyelash unit of claim 1,wherein the adhesive is distributed intermittently across the surface 6.The self-adhesive artificial eyelash unit of claim 1, wherein for atleast one of the matched pair, not the entire surface is covered withadhesive.
 7. The self-adhesive artificial eyelash unit of claim 1,wherein the strip is made of different colors and be of differing sizesaccording to the desire of the wearer.
 8. The self-adhesive artificialeyelash unit of claim 1, wherein the strip is embedded with a metallicglitter, according to the desire of the wearer.
 9. The self-adhesiveartificial eyelash unit of claim 1, wherein the non-adhesive surface ofthe strip is printed with a device selected from a group of devicesincluding text, a logo, and an image.
 10. The self-adhesive artificialeyelash unit of claim 1, wherein such strip is embedded with a materialwith absorbs light energy and emits the absorbed light at apredetermined level or rate, such that when ambient light level is lowerthan the emission rate, the strip is luminated.
 11. The self-adhesiveartificial eyelash unit of claim 1, wherein the array of lash hairscomprises individual lash hairs being at least two different colors. 12.The self-adhesive artificial eyelash unit of claim 1, wherein thesupport strips are luminescent.
 13. A self-adhesive artificial eyelashset, the set comprising a first and second matched eyelash extensionunit according to claim 1, the first unit adapted for attachment on anupper side of a natural lash, and the second unit adapted for attachmenton an underside of a natural lash, the first unit having a bottomadhesive surface, and the second unit having an upper adhesive surface,wherein the first and second units are adapted to be disposed onopposite sides of a wearer's natural lashes and adhere together uponbeing pressed together.
 14. The self-adhesive artificial eyelash set ofclaim 13, wherein one of the matched pairs of units does not have anyadhesive and relies on the adhesive present on the matched unit, passingbetween natural lashes, and contacting the surface of the unit, toretain the assembly together.
 15. The self-adhesive artificial eyelashset of claim 13, wherein the adhesive is a silicone-based adhesive. 16.The self-adhesive artificial eyelash set of claim 13, wherein theadhesive is type which is mechanically interlocking.
 17. Theself-adhesive artificial eyelash set of claim 16, wherein themechanically interlocking type of adhesive is a hook-and-loop typemechanically interlocking adhesive.
 18. The self-adhesive artificialeyelash set of claim 13, wherein the adhesive is distributedintermittently across the surface
 19. The self-adhesive artificialeyelash set of claim 13, wherein for at least one of the matched pair,not the entire surface is covered with adhesive.
 20. A method ofattaching a artificial eyelash unit of claim 1 into a set, the methodcomprising the steps of aligning above and below a wearers naturallashes and pressing together to sandwich the natural lashestherebetween.